Holder and dispenser for toilet paper



Jan. 3, 1967 c. L. CARROLL 3,295,777

HOLDER AND DISPENSER FOR TOILET PAPER Filed Oct. l9, 1965 United StatesPatent ()fiice 3,295,777 Patented Jan. 3, 1967 3,295,777 HOLDER ANDDISPENSER FOR TUHJET PAPER Clifford L. Carroll, 26 N. Main, Springville,Utah 84663 Filed Oct. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 497,751 Claims. or. 242-553 Thepresent invention relates to a holder and dispenser for at least one butpreferably a plurality of rolls of toilet paper, the same beingexpressly, but not necessarily, functionally designed and structurallyadapted to store several or more rolls of currently marketed brands oftoilet paper.

Although this invention was devised and perfected with the thought inmind that it will serve best in public places, for example in hotels,motels and the like, it is such in construction and adaptability that itwill serve exceptionally well in private homes.

By way of introduction it is to be pointed out that the invention isregarded as an improvement on many and varied prior art containers anddispensers. It has to do with an adaptation which is an improvement uponmy prior Patent 2,991,951 of July 11, 1961 directed to a toilet papercontainer and dispenser. Briefly, Patent 2,991,951 is characterized by acontainer in which a plurality of rolls of toilet paper are stacked andprotectively enclosed. The container has a lid or cover equipped upperopen end by way of which the rolls of paper can be placed and encased inthe confining space of the container or housing and has an uncovereddischarge or dispensing opening at the bottom portion of its front byway of which sheets from an enclosed roll opposite the discharge openingmay be withdrawn and readily torn loose for use, and spindle means whichis axially mounted in the container and on which at least one roll ofpaper is stationed, supported and freely turnable for ready usage.

With further reference to the prior patent it will be noted that thespindle for the in-use ro-ll (FIG. 4) is fixedly mounted on theshelf-like bottom and oriented with the aforementioned dischargeopening. Despite the size and locale of the spindle it has been foundthat removing the cardboard core of the used-up roll has posed aproblem. it follows that one object of the present invention is tochange the construction of the spindle so that it is flexible andresilient and is such that it assures better spindle performance.

More significantly, the improved spindle herein disclosed is in the formof a stout but bendably yieldable coil spring. Also, instead of mountingthe spindle (either a rigid or resilient spindle) rigidly as in theprior patent, the spindle in the present adaptation is mounted on andconstitutes a component part of a unique extensible and retractableadapter, more particularly, a simple slidingly mounted tray, the latterbeing so arranged and of such capability that it can be completely slidor pulled out through the dispensing opening and allowed to pivot orswing down to a position which locates the core holding spindle so thatit is an easy step to remove a partly used roll or just the core, afterwhich the empty tray and spindle or, alternatively, with a fresh rollapplied, can be slid back into a normal tray position within theconfines of the lower part of the holder or container.

The invention is such that the container is provided with a hinged orequivalent cover making the container space loadable from the top, thatis when the container is mounted in a completely exposed position on awall or equivalent support. When, as is sometimes the case, thecontainer is submerged and substantially enclosed within the recess ofthe wall surface and is therefore not toploading, the loading can beaccomplished from the bottom by way of an adequately wide and high rollinserting and removing opening. Then, too, and instead of using aprojectible and retractible tray, it would be within the purview of theinvention to merely substitute a flexible and resilient spindle for therigid type of spindle shown and covered in the aforementioned priorpatent 2,991,951.

Another improvement resides in the provision of means which is installedwithin the confines of the container to take the place of the manuallyactuatable latch which (in my prior patent) bridges the upper portion ofthe dispensing opening and is accessible by way of said opening andactuatable to releasably suspend the rolls which are stored in the upperpart of the container in readiness for use. To this end a spring biasedplate or equivalent device is embodied in the upper part of thecontainer and functions to suspend the rolls of paper with which it iscooperable. This plate is provided with a manually released springreturned arm which is accessible at the front of the container, wherebyto more satisfactorily achieve the over-all and improved end resultdesired.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

PEG. 1 is a view in perspective of the improved holder and dispenser fortoilet paper with portions broken away to more clearly show the featureswhich characterize the present invention. a

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken on the plane of the vertical sectionline 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view with parts in section and elevationdetailing the construction and manner of use of the aforementionedextensible and retractible tray.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail section on the plane of the section line5--5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one upper corner portion ofthe spring biased roll holding plate constituting one of the features ofthe present improvement.

The elongated vertically disposable container (holder or housing) isdenoted generally by the numeral 8 and is made of sheet material, whichmay be transparent or not, and it comprises a flat back or rear wall It)and opposed front wall 12 and spaced parallel side walls 14. There isalso a horizontal bottom wall 1,6 whose loading or front edge is cutback and positioned within the confines of the container as denoted at18 (FIG. 2). It will be noted that the front wall and side walls arecut-away as denoted generally at 20 to provide a dispensing or dischargeopening which is at a predetermined height or level above the ledge-likebottom wall or shelf 16. This opening is of a size to permit access tothe paper 22 on the in-use or bottom roll 24 as shown in FEGS. 1 and 2.As is customary this roll of paper is provided at its hub portion withan open-ended tubular cardboard or equivalent core 26. It will be notedtoo that the upper end portion of the container is open as at 28 and isprovided with a readily openable and closable lid or cover 3% which ishinged to the rear portions of the side walls as at 32. In practice therear or back wall llll is such that it serves to accommodate fasteningscrews or the like 35 which are employed to mount the device on a wallor other support 38. The rolls of paper in the upper chamber or part ofthe container are denoted at 34 and 36, these rolls being in end-to-endor stacked relationship. These rolls are in readiness to drop down bygravity to take the place of the roll 24 after the paper on the latterhas been used up. The means preferred to accomplish this resultcomprises :a built-in or self-contained device 40. The means or device40 preferably comprises a vertically elongated plate 42 whose uppercorner portions are provided with hooks 44 which are simple andreleasably hooked over the upper edge of the rear wall. The lower halfportion 46 of this plate is bent toward the roll 36 and is provided witha coil spring 48 Which is interposed between the plate and the rear walland which serves to press a portion of the plate against the bottom partof a roll 36 to hold it in its elevated but ready-touse position. Inorder to operate this plate a rigid metal strap or arm 50 is providedand this arm has one end 52 joined to the plate and has its otherforward end portion 54 projecting beyond the front wall of the opening20 where it is provided With a finger-piece 56 which is pushed in thedirection of the arrow in order to exert pressure against the springloaded or spring biased plate 40. It will be evident that by exertingpressure of the finger in the direction of the arrow A the arm willtransmit motion to the plate and will compress the spring 48 and willallow the roll 36 to drop down and by timely releasing the arm thenext-above roll 34 will be trapped and held in its ready-toserveposition.

With reference now to the novel means shown to advantage in FIG. 4 itwill be seen that broadly this means is extensible and retractible. Morespecifically the means comprises a simple tray 58. The tray in turncomprises a flat bottom or plate 60 having a finger-grip 62 at its freeend. The opposite longitudinal edge portions of the plate or tray areprovided with spaced parallel upstanding flanges 64 having elongatedslots 66 and keeper notches 68. The slotted flanges are keyed andslidingly mounted on laterally directed outer end portions 70 (FIG. of apair of spaced parallel fixedly mounted guide rods 72. These rodsparallel the interior surfaces of the side walls 14. They are correctlyshaped to slidingly mount the tray and to permit it to be withdrawn andreturned in a seemingly self-evident manner. The central or medianportion of the bottom of the tray is provided with a short verticalspindle. While it is within the purview of the concept to provide anduse a rigid centralized spindle atop the tray, the one shown andcustomarily employed comprises a stout but nevertheless manuallybendable coil spring 74. This spring is of the approximate height shownin FIG. 2 and accordingly terminates at its upper end in a plane wellbelow the plane of the top part of the dispensing opening 20. Withreference again to FIG. 4 of my prior patent it is reiterated that theholding spindle is rigid. In the instant case and where the tray couldbe omitted, as is sometimes the situation, the spindle 74 here need onlybe flexible. This is to say the spring spindle 74 itself permits removalof the core without pulling the tray out and this is brought out inphantom lines in FIG. 2. There are instances however when the tray 58 islocked in place (such as in public places where a padlock is applied)and then the flexible and resilient spindle would also come in handy forremoving a defective roll by the authorized attendant or simply takingoff the cardboard core 26 as pointed out above. Furthermore, it iswithin the purview of this invention to provide a sliding tray with aspindle which instead of being flexible and resilient is rigid as forexample the type shown in the prior patent. Because of the fact that thetray can be pulled out it would not necessarily be so that the spindlewould have to be flexible. It is evident therefore that the springspindle is necessary only if the slidingly mounted tray is locked (bypadlock not shown) into position and that the spring spindle itselfwhether on a tray or not would be amply flexible to allow the core to beflexed and removed.

Normally with the tray retracted and within its position-of-use shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 the spindle is perpendicular and in proper axialrelationship to the chamber portion of the container. This allows thehub or core 26 of the roll 24 to be slipped into position over thespindle. In fact the roll of paper can be allowed to drop into place tostart with or it is permissible to simply place two rolls 34 and 36 inthe chamber portion, to pull out the tray and place the roll 24 thereonand then slide the tray back into the usable position shown in FIGS. 1and 2.

Assuming that the roll of paper 24 has been used up and it is desired toremove the core 26 it will be evident that by simply catching hold ofthe finger-piece 62 and pulling the tray out and allowing it to dropdown to the self-suspended position shown in FIG. 4 the user can readilyremove the core and either place a new roll on the spindle and put thetray back in its normal usable position. If the tray is empty when it isslid back into place it will be seen that by operating theaforementioned trippable arm 54, the release means 40 comes into playand allows the roll 36 to drop down over the spindle in readiness foruse.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A holding, storing and dispensing device for rolls of toilet paperwherein each roll embodies a tubular cardboard core with toilet tissuewound thereon comprising: a vertically elongated container providing anenclosed space for a plurality of rolls of toilet paper stacked oneabove the other, the front bottom portion of said container beingprovided with a toilet paper clearing and dispensing opening ofrequisite width and extending upwardly from the plane of the bottom ofsaid container to a height suflicient to permit dispensing of toiletpaper from the roll in alignment with said opening, and also permittingone to pass a full roll through said opening for reloading, if desired,that portion of the container above the opening providing a storagespace and serving to enclose extra rolls of toilet paper capable ofgravitating into the lower portion of the container when the paper orthe roll therein has been used up, manually releasable springbiasedmeans operatively mounted within the confines of the upper portion ofsaid container and releasably supporting said extra rolls of paper untilneeded for use in said bottom portion, and a manually yieldable spindlemounted axially and vertically in said lower portion and adapted tosuport and accessibly retain the lowermost inuse roll of toilet paper,said spindle being of a vertical height less than the height of saiddispensing opening, said manually releasable spring-biased meanscomprising a plate connected with and movably suspended from a coactingcomponent part of said container and which is interposed between saidpart and the rolls of paper proximal thereto, said plate provided with aspring which yieldably urges the plate to assume and normally retain itsroll holding position and to serve its purpose, and a manually trippablearm secured at a rearward end to said plate and projecting forwardly toan accessible operating position in front of said container, wherebywhen the arm is pressed toward the container, the spring is depressedand permits the plate to move to its roll-releasing position, said platebeing vertically elongated and provided at an upper end with hooksremovably hung over the upper edge of a rear wall of said container,said spring comprising a coil spring aflixed to one side of a lower endportion of said plate.

2. In combination, a pair of tubular roll members, a holding, storingand dispensing device for said roll members, said device comprisingupstanding support and guide means, the lower end of said support andguide means including generally horizontal abutment means, an upstandingspindle supported from said abutment means and projecting upwardlytherefrom, one of said roll members being disposed on and supported fromsaid abutment means in upstanding position thereon and with said spindleprojecting upwardly at least patrially through said one roll member, theother roll member of said roll members being operatively associated withsaid support and guide means for gravity urged guided movementtherealong between an elevated position spaced at least slightly abovesaid one roll member and a lowered position occupying the position inwhich said one roll member is disposed with said spindle projecting atleast partially upwardly through said other roll member when said oneroll member is removed, said support and guide means including meansreleasably retaining said other roll member in said elevated position,said spindle and said one roll member, When said other roll member is insaid elevated position, terminating at their upper ends below the bottomof said other roll member with the upper end of said one roll memberspaced slightly below the lower end of said other roll member, at leastthe upper end portion of said spindle being sufiiciently horizontallylaterally displaceable, independently of lateral displacement of thelower terminal end of said spindle, to enable said one roll member to beaxially withdrawn from the upper end of said spindle withoutinterference with said other roll member, said spindle including meansbiasing said spindle toward a position with the upper end thereof inposition for telescopic movement of the lower end of said other rollmember thereover after said one roll member is removed and said otherroll member is released for movement by gravity to said loweredposition.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said abutment means is slidinglysupported from said support and guide means for lateral outwarddisplacement of said abutment means relative to said support and guidemeans sufilcient to move said spindle into a position enablingwithdrawal of said one roll member therefrom independent of lateraldisplacement of the upper end of said spindle relative to the lower endthereof.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said abutment means is alsopivotally supported from said support and guide means for rotation aboutan axis disposed generally at right angles to the longitudinal axis ofsaid support and guide means and extending transversely of the directionin which said abutment means is slidingly displaceable during slidingdisplacement of said abutment means.

5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said support and guide meansincludes means enclosing at least all but the lower end portion of saidother roll member when the latter is in said elevated position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,407,971 9/1946' Black 242- .3 2,605,975 8/1952 Page et al 242-553 2,872,125 2/1959Rial et al 242-5542 2,991,951 7/1961 Carroll 242-55.42 3,138,340 6/ 1964Caravella 24255.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 623,434 7/1961 Canada.

0 FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE F. MAUTZ, Examiner.

1. A HOLDING, STORING AND DISPENSING DEVICE FOR ROLLS OF TOILET PAPERWHEREIN EACH ROLL EMBODIES A TUBULAR CARDBOARD CORE WITH TOILET TISSUEWOUND THEREON COMPRISING: A VERTICALLY ELONGATED CONTAINER PROVIDING ANENCLOSED SPACE FOR A PLURALITY OF ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER STACKED ONEABOVE THE OTHER, THE FRONT BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID CONTAINER BEINGPROVIDED WITH A TOILET PAPER CLEARING AND DISPENSING OPENING OFREQUISITE WIDTH AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE PLANE OF THE BOTTOM OFSAID CONTAINER TO A HEIGHT SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT DISPENSING OF TOILETPAPER FROM THE ROLL IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID OPENING, AND ALSO PERMITTINGONE TO PASS A FULL ROLL THROUGH SAID OPENING FOR RELOADING, IF DESIRED,THAT PORTION OF THE CONTAINER ABOVE THE OPENING PROVIDING A STORAGESPACE AND SERVING TO ENCLOSE EXTRA ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER CAPABLE OFGRAVITATING INTO THE LOWER PORTION OF THE CONTAINER WHEN THE PAPER ORTHE ROLL THEREIN HAS BEEN USED UP, MANUALLY RELEASABLE SPRINGBIASEDMEANS OPERATIVELY MOUNTED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE UPPER PORTION OFSAID CONTAINER AND RELEASABLY SUPPORTING SAID EXTRA ROLLS OF PAPER UNTILNEEDED FOR USE IN SAID BOTTOM PORTION, AND A MANUALLY YIELDABLE SPINDLEMOUNTED AXIALLY AND VERTICALLY IN SAID LOWER PORTION AND ADAPTED TOSUPPORT AND ACCESSIBLY RETAIN THE LOWERMOST INUSE ROLL OF TOILET PAPER,SAID SPINDLE BEING OF A VERTICAL HEIGHT LESS THAN THE HEIGHT OF SAIDDISPENSING OPENING, SAID MANUALLY RELEASABLE SPRING-BIASED MEANSCOMPRISING A PLATE CONNECTED WITH AND MOVABLY SUSPENDED FROM A COACTINGCOMPONENT PART OF SAID CONTAINER AND WHICH IS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAIDPART AND THE ROLLS OF PAPER PROXIMAL THERETO, SAID PLATE PROVIDED WITH ASPRING WHICH YIELDABLY URGES THE PLATE TO ASSUME AND NORMALLY RETAIN ITSROLL HOLDING POSITION AND TO SERVE ITS PURPOSE, AND A MANUALLY TRIPPABLEARM SECURED AT A REARWARD END TO SAID PLATE AND PROJECTING FORWARDLY TOAN ACCESSIBLE OPERATING POSITION IN FRONT OF SAID CONTAINER, WHEREBYWHEN THE ARM IS PRESSED TOWARD THE CONTAINER, THE SPRING IS DEPRESSEDAND PERMITS THE PLATE TO MOVE TO ITS ROLL-RELEASING POSITION, SAID PLATEBEING VERTICALLY ELONGATED AND PROVIDED AT AN UPPER END WITH HOOKSREMOVABLY HUNG OVER THE UPPER EDGE OF A REAR WALL OF SAID CONTAINER,SAID SPRING COMPRISING A COIL SPRING AFFIXED TO ONE SIDE OF A LOWER ENDPORTION OF SAID PLATE.